Hana
by Sango Hikari
Summary: Fuji has been disappearing a lot lately, and Eiji decides to follow him. [Slight FujiEiji]


For some strange reason, the two pairings that I've become obsessed with are Fuji/Ryoma and Fuji/Eiji. So, here's my attempt at a story with the latter. Actually, it's my first Tennis no Ouji-sama story with any pairing at all, even if it is only slight, so any feedback is greatly appreciated.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Tennis no Ouji-sama.

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Eiji watched as Seigaku's tensai, Fuji Syuusuke, bid his teammates goodbye as he headed off in the opposite direction. He had been doing that a lot lately. After practice, he would walk with them until they reached a large brown building, abruptly saying he had something to take care of before walking across the street towards somewhere only he knew. This wouldn't have been strange if he was heading towards the store or his home, but he seemed to be heading _away_ from the city.

And Eiji was starting to get suspicious.

Fuji was quite mysterious as it was. With his ever-present smile and the calm aura that seemed to surround him, no one could tell quite what he was thinking. Normal Fuji was creepy enough as it was. Mischievous Could-Be-Up-To-Something Fuji was downright scary.

So, despite his better judgment, Eiji decided to follow him.

He also said goodbye to his teammates, saying that he just remembered something important before running off in the same direction as his target. If Oishi or anyone else noticed they didn't show it and only continued on their way.

It was hard following Fuji.

The tensai made all sorts of turns on the way to his destination, making the task of pursuing him even more difficult than it already was. If it was anyone other than Eiji they probably would have been caught; after all, they didn't have his cat-like reflexes that allowed him to hide behind the nearest object whenever Fuji happened to look back towards him.

He noticed that they were indeed heading out of the city.

As Eiji had suspected, they were soon away from the stores and houses and in the middle of a cluster of trees that he never even knew were there. He raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar surroundings, wondering not for the first time just where they were going. He cringed as he stepped on a twig, quickly darting behind a tree just before Fuji looked right at where he had been standing.

At least there were a lot of trees to hide behind.

They walked for a few more minutes through the forest, though Eiji wasn't sure if he should actually call it a forest, since it seemed to just be a large gathering of trees that wanted to be one. He was trailing quite a ways behind Fuji now, brushing a couple of leaves from his hair. The acrobatics player was getting annoyed with all the objects that seemed to find their way into his hair. He closed his eyes as he sighed, wondering why he had decided to follow Fuji in the first place.

When he opened them, the tensai was gone.

Eiji blinked a couple of times before he finally registered that Fuji was no longer walking in front of him. He knew he had fallen behind, but didn't think Fuji had gotten _that_ far ahead of him. Eiji ran to where he had last seen him, his eyes widening at what he saw.

In front of him was a large field of flowers.

And in the middle of the flowers was Fuji, his hair blowing in sync with the brightly colored plants in the breeze. His Seigaku tennis bag had been placed on the ground beside him, the blueness of it standing out amongst the other colors: red, yellow, violet and pink among them. Eiji watched as Fuji bent down and picked a maroon one, twirling it in his fingers before letting it fly away in the wind.

He then lay down amongst the flowers.

Fuji folded his arms and placed them behind his head as a makeshift pillow, the trees blocking the sun so it wasn't in his eyes; which were open for once, their deep blue staring meeting the light blue of the sky. The wind began to pick up, jostling the trees and letting the sun's rays seep through. Fuji's eyes began to close unconsciously as he held up a hand to block the light.

There was a strange calmness about him.

Eiji realized that, although the tensai always appeared calm and relaxed, there must be times that even he felt stressed or anxious; and, like most people, he needed some time to be alone. Here, in this field, must have been one place that Fuji felt truly at peace with himself. While Eiji was thinking, he hadn't noticed that the tensai's eyes were now closed again, and a strange noise broke the silence.

Fuji was snoring.

Eiji allowed himself to smile. Though he hardly ever permitted himself to drop his grin, Fuji always seemed aware and on guard of his surroundings. Never before had he seemed so…vulnerable. Here, surrounded by brightly colored flowers, the wind blowing his hair across his face…he looked so peaceful.

Eiji decided to get a closer look.

He crept over to his sleeping friend, crouching down on his hands and knees as he bent over to clearly see Fuji's face. His hands were no longer behind his head, but folded neatly over his chest. Because of the wind, his hair was scattered unevenly across his closed eyes; his lips were parted slightly as soft snoring sounds escaped from them. It was such an unreal scene that one would only see it in a dream.

Yet it _was_ real.

Fuji looked so content when he was asleep; like he didn't care if the whole world saw him. Eiji watched him for a bit, not wanting to move for fear of disturbing his friend. After a while of sitting by the tensai's side, Eiji carefully shifted so that his legs were carefully folded beneath him, and was no longer on his hands and knees. He reached down and picked a flower, a violet one, and gently placed it behind Fuji's ear.

"Sleep well, Fuji."


End file.
